Everything We Think We Know About Addiction Is Wrong

I  am a firm believer that half of the addicts at any one time are not of their own free will. Yes. There are plenty of people that just like getting high but the physical addiction of opiates is a brand new animal to everyone that encounters it. No other recreational drug has such an effect on the body. Those of you who may think that these people are weak-minded or weak-willed are terribly mistaken. The average drug user barely even believes in physical addiction until it happens to them and is so much worse than they had ever imagined. How do you go to work when you're so violently ill? How do you take care of your kids? You get more dope, that's how.  Every day.  It's not enjoyable and they never touch it again. You understand the gift it is just to allow someone the time to heal? 2 or 3 weeks is a long time to look after someone's affairs while they climb out of a stupidly deep hole that they dug themselves into. There is no need to remind most of them to feel guilty. Please, remember this if your son or daughter finds themselves in this position. Or maybe you, yourself.